Hawaii’s kids get
to vote Nov. 3
alongside parents

The Kids Voting USA project
educates children and spurs
reluctant adults to vote

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Adults inclined to forget or forgo their responsibility to vote Nov. 3 may find that the pressure's on from a child who wants to get to the polls and cast a ballot, too.

Voting booths for youngsters from kindergarten through 12th grade will be set up in most state polling places this year as Hawaii joins 40 other states in the Kids Voting USA project.

The chance to vote and compare the results with real election returns will be the finale of an educational program that will be offered in public and private schools.

Members of the state's 37 Rotary Clubs, who will serve as precinct officials on the underage side of election stations, have been organizing the effort, which will require hundreds of volunteers.

"This program takes education into the real world," said Lyla Berg, executive director of Kids Voting Hawaii. "It's designed to have children think and do research, to use the time of year as a learning tool."

The curriculum prepared by the national organization has been distributed to more than 9,000 public school teachers and offered to private schools through the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

Berg, former Kailua Intermediate School principal and an instructor at the University of Hawaii College of Education, has pitched the program at public school principals' meetings, and to state school districts and the teachers' union.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association backs it, as does the state Office of Elections. American Savings Bank contributed $160,000 to underwrite the costs of ballots and other materials.

The fall curriculum will prepare elementary school students with "the basic concepts . . . my voice counts, I have power to make a difference, I elect my leaders, I vote, I watch the returns," Berg explained.

"For grades 7 through 12, it is more content-based. They'll look at how the election process directly relates to democratic principles, why we do it, how we do it in an informed way."

The lessons do not get into partisan or candidate debates, said Linda Coble, Kids Voting Hawaii chairwoman.

"They go into what democracy is about, the privilege and right to vote."

The ballots for older children will include some of the constitutional and Charter questions facing adult voters. Whether that will include the controversial question about the Legislature's authority to define marriage as one man and one woman is up to district advisory boards, she said.

The kids' ballots have an edge that adults might value on the real thing -- candidates' mug shots are provided.

Berg said the project has a second prong: getting adults to vote. The program, which was started in Arizona in 1987, has increased voter turnout by 3 to 11 percent in some communities, she said. In 1996, the program was run as a pilot project in schools in the Farrington High School and Baldwin High School complexes.

"We think it will spur dialogue at home on issues that affect them all," said Coble. "Children will be encouraged to take their parents to the polls."

Zoya Kaupe, voter education specialist in the elections office, said, "We think it will stimulate adults to cast their vote."

She said that the Kids Voting project will be accommodated as well as space allows at precinct stations, many of which are in public schools.

By Nov. 3, program sponsors expect the banners and bumper stickers declaring "Our Voices Do Count" to be as familiar as any candidate's theme song.

The kids' ballots will be counted by American Savings Bank's computer, and the results will be announced election night.

"I want children to be able to feel their voices have been heard," said Coble.

Meanwhile, "the logistics are mind-boggling; it will take a huge volunteer effort," said Coble, a Rotary Club member. She said Rotarians will seek help from other organizations to staff the polling places.

"I need 144 for 14 polling places run by the Honolulu Rotary. Kapolei will need 96 volunteers, Kaneohe needs 132 for 11 polling places."

The effort is the first time all chapters of Rotary District 5000 have collaborated on the same project, she said.